Density: A National Concern

Problem Scenario

This experiment might become relevant if you had a thirst for some type of drink and they were all frozen and you wanted to drink whichever one would melt faster, because you wished to save time.

Broad Question

Specific Question

Does liquid density affect melting time?

Hypothesis

A higher density will have a longer melting process than that of a less dense liquid.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Liquid density

Dependent Variable:

Melting time

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

Melting liquid temperature
liquid container size

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

---

---

---

---

General Plan

I am going to put three types of liquids of the same measurement into three separate containers all of the same size and material type. I will then
separately melt each liquid from its frozen form, and time how long it takes until they are each melted completely. I will repeat this process three times to ensure that if a fluke is made it is noticeable that it is inaccurate.

Potential Problems And Solutions
There might not be enough difference between the density of the liquids to make any difference in the melting time.I would have to choose completely different liquids in order to correct this dilemma.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

You could receive Frostbite from holding the frozen beakers for too long, so just make sure not to handle the beaker any more than necessary .

Experimental Design

Number Of Comparison Categories:

3

Number of Comparison Samples:

1

Number Of Observation In Each Sample:

2

When data will be collected

2/27/13

Where will data be collected?:

The Science room of team 1 of A. Crosby Kennett Middle School.

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
Corn syrup	16 oz	Hannaford	2.79
Vegetable Oil	16 oz	Hannaford	4.49

Detailed Procedure

First I took three beakers and filled one up with water, one with olive oil, and one with corn syrup. I
made sure to measure exactly 100 ml of each liquid to ensure no extra variables which would completely destroy the legitimacy of my results. Next I put all three of them the F.A.C.s class freezer where they stayed over night. The next day I got a little plastic box and filled it up with warm water and let it sit for an hour for it to match room temperature. I then put all the frozen liquids (still in the beakers) in the water in the box and started three different stopwatches. As soon as I noticed that there was no longer any piece of frozen liquid in the beaker I would stop the timer for that liquid. I did this for each liquid and then my experiment was done and all that was left was to graph the data.

Diagram

Photo List

Time Line

2/27/13---preform experiment

3/28/13---finish everything

3/29/13---present at science fair

Data Table

Liquid	Olive Oil	Water	Corn Syrup
Melting Time	50min	40 min	25 min

---

---

---

---

Data Analysis

All Raw Data

see data table

Photos

Results

Corn Syrup melted completely after 25 minutes, Water after 40, and Olive Oil after 50.

Conclusion

The apparent trend in this data is that the higher the density the quicker it takes to melt. The order of melting times from quickest to slowest is listed as 25 min (Corn Syrup), 40 min (Water), 50 min (Olive Oil). Corn syrup was the densest liquid and then came Water, followed by Olive Oil which was the least dense. So according to the data the denser the liquid the quicker it takes to melt.

Discussion

The collected data of my experiment showed a trend going from the less dense liquids to the denser liquids as far as time is concerned meaning that the higher the density the faster it melts. There is quite a strong relationship between the melting time and density of these liquids according to my data. The first liquid (Corn Syrup), took about 25 minutes to melt completely the next (water) took 40 minutes, and the last liquid (Olive Oil) took 50 minutes. There is a average difference of about 12.5 minutes of melting time between those liquids showing a strong correlation between the variables. And provided that my data was collected with utmost accuracy, I was able to answer my question of whether or not density affects melting time. However, I am willing to admit one error in my experiment. That is, these liquids might have different freezing points, meaning that as I submerged the beakers containing the frozen liquids, it may not of have been entirely frozen where as the other liquid might have been thus making it take longer for a completely frozen liquid to melt than a partially frozen liquid.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

This really couldn't affect my community any less and as for science I'm pretty sure scientists already know whether or not density affects the melting time of frozen liquids. So this experiment doesn't really benefit the community or science.

Background Research

References

Abstract

In my experiment I wanted to know whether or not the density of a liquid affected how long it took to melt that liquid once it was frozen. To do so I grabbed three different liquids each with different densities, froze them, then put them in water approx. room temperature and started the timers for each liquid. Once a beaker's content was completely melted I stopped the timer for that liquid. At the end I had three different melting times for each liquid, corn syrup (25 minutes), water (40 minutes), and Olive Oil (50 minutes). I found that the higher density of a liquid, the faster it melts.